New and old fans enjoy their time at the Grand Prix™
Saturday, 1 April 2023
Formula 1® is bigger than Ever at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.
As the fans arrive at Albert Park for the FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2023 in record numbers, there are literally a hundred thousand stories among those seeing the Formula 1® drivers and cars.
Some are seeing it for the first time. Jordan and Marie moved to Melbourne last month from Dublin, Ireland, and the first item they wanted to tick off their ‘must-do’ list at their new home was to see a Grand Prix for the first time.
“I
had to, I was named after the Jordan F1 team!” said Jordan.
“I was already a fan when I started to watch Drive to Survive and that just made me want to see it more.”
Marie was not really an F1® fan but soon got swept along by DTS and now “I want to come back and get in there!” she said, pointing at the Red Bull Power Station.
“We will definitely come back next year, and now my dad and my brother have said that they will go to Barcelona to the Spanish Grand Prix,” said Jordan.
Their favourite drivers? Jordan likes Fernando Alonso, while Marie was a Daniel Ricciardo fan but has switched allegiance to Charles Leclerc.
On the other hand, some fans have been to races for some time. Steve, Nathan and Nick are Melbourne locals and have been to as many as eight Australian Grands Prix in the previous events.
As they prepared their camp seats and equipment for the Qualifying session, out came their pride and joy; an original 1996 Australian Grand Prix cap, to mark the first appearance of Formula 1® in Melbourne. Williams may not be the winning force they were 27 years ago, but Damon Hill certainly thrilled the fans when he won his second race in Australia in a row.
And even if Ricciardo is not on the grid this season, the local hero remains the favourite driver of all three long-term fans. Imagine how popular he will be when he returns to the Formula 1® grid...
